Odd suggestion on how to age cherry?

[David Eisan]

As some of you have seen, I am working on a small cherry clock right now. On my last cherry clock I did lye dye job and I really liked the deep red cherry look, as did the person I gave the clock to. This time though, I am treading heavily on the Shaker tradition and I think I might end up getting haunted if I dye the clock with lye.

I know someone who owns a tanning bed and I was wondering if I put the clock on the tanning bed for a period of time if it would age the cherry quickly?

Thoughts?

Seeing as the sun is soon to never rise again here in the GWN until spring again, I don't have the option of just leaving it outdoors on sunny days for a week like youse guys down south do.

Any other options for artificially quickening the darkening process of
cherry?

Thanks,

David.

Every neighbourhood has one, in mine, I'm him.

[Jim Becker]

Honestly, your cherry will reach a significant percentage of how dark it will get in only a few months from UV exposure, especially if you use BLO as the first part of your finishing process. (the oil darkens the wood a little due to the oil, itself) Even when the sun is not "out", there is still UV in the light that is present...you can get a nasty burn on a cloudy day!! A coat of dewaxed garnett shellac will further add some nice color and be a great top coat, besides, for this kind of project.

Your tanning bed idea is interesting. Why not try it out with a piece of scrap? The only other alternative to the chemical process (lye, etc) that I know of would be to do the "unthinkable" and use a dye to darken it "now"...

[Steve Hepditch]

There's a product that I've seen at Woodworker's Supply (I'm sure it's available elsewhere) called "Old Growth" that claims to add "100 years of age in a bottle". Ok, so it sounds like a dye/stain, but it's a 2-bottle process that is supposed to "rapid oxidize" the wood. I've never used it, but I'd like to hear from someone who has. I'm considering it for a project I have coming up where I have to match new cherry to old.

Anyone have any good or bad experience with this stuff?

Steve

[David Klug]

Honestly, your cherry will reach a significant percentage of how dark it will get in only a few months from UV exposure, especially if you use BLO as the first part of your finishing process. (the oil darkens the wood a little due to the oil, itself) Even when the sun is not "out", there is still UV in the light that is present...you can get a nasty burn on a cloudy day!! A coat of dewaxed garnett shellac will further add some nice color and be a great top coat, besides, for this kind of project.

Your tanning bed idea is interesting. Why not try it out with a piece of scrap? The only other alternative to the chemical process (lye, etc) that I know of would be to do the "unthinkable" and use a dye to darken it "now"...

Love your new potrait!!!!!

[Jeff Kurtz]

I agree that cherry acquires a rich patina quite rapidly and would advise against aging it. That being said, potassium dichromate will do a nice job without any blotching, which is often a problem when working with cherry. There's a short (very short) article about it in Fine Woodworking #120. The product used to be sold by Garrett Wade. (If they still have it, I would assume the directions sent with it should be sufficient.) Probably a safe bet that the "wood ager" sold by Woodworker's Supply, which Steve mentions, is the same thing.

Jeff

[Steven Wilson]

I like to apply a couple of coats of Kusmi shellac (sort of dark redish) that has a few drops of Transtint red-brown and/or med-brown dye added to it. I find it gives cherry the look of it being two years old. From their I like to let nature takes it's course.

[Art Kelly]

Honestly, your cherry will reach a significant percentage of how dark it will get in only a few months from UV exposure...

I'm putting together a new dishwasher panel to go in my 20-year-old cherry kitchen. Obviously the new cherry is 50 shades lighter than the old (which was finished with catalyzed lacquer, but not stained).

The photo shows the new, the old, and the back of the old (R.H. piece).

Question: Will the cherry continue to darken after I oil it and then either 1) WOP it (probably) or 2) spray it with precatalyzed lacquer (probably not, but I'm open to suggestions)?

If I get it wrong there will be weeping and moaning and gnashing of teeth forever from SWMBO.


PICT6520.jpg
Thanks in advance!
Art

[Lee Schierer]

I use Deft Clear wood finish and it brings out the grain in cherry and lets it age nicely. The dresser in this photo was as light colored as the piece shown above for the dishwasher and darkened to the extent seen in just a few weeks exposed just to indoor lighting. Within a year or two it will get much darker.

Unless you can position the tanning bed so all areas get equal amounts of light, you could be left with shadow lines that you don't want.

[Chip Lindley]

Nobody has mentioned fuming. Hardwoods with tannins can be darkened by fuming in an enclosed container or tent with household ammonia. It works on white oak; cherry too. The process is a bit cumbersome, but the right shade of dark is achieved, the piece can be removed and the process stops.

[Brian Kincaid]

Lee, that cherry dresser is really beautiful!
-Brian

[David Thompson 27577]

All woods oxidize a bit, and change color as a result. Some woods are also photo-reactive -- they change with exposure to light. Cherry is such a wood.

When sawn fresh from a felled tree, cherry is pumpkin-orange in color. After drying, it is the warm medium brown that we see when we buy it. After it's been worked and finished, it will turn that deep red that some of us love, and it will do that over a few years -- maybe as long as 10 or 12 years.

Then, over the next century or so, the redness will change to a wonderfully warm nutty-brown. When most of us think of the Shaker tradition, we think of that warm nutty brown. When we see valued antiques made from cherry, that's the color we see.

Yes, you can speed up the process a bit, by putting the piece in strong lighting (like strong sunlight or a tanning bed). But I don't think you're going to get the 100-year-old look any time soon. You'll easily get the dark reds, perhaps in only a few days. But those warm antique-looking browns could take months or even years.

Try it if you want -- I'd be interested in the results. But I'm not holding my breath.

[Mike Barney Sr]

Years ago I was reading an interesting story in Adventures in Wood Finishing by George Frank (I believe this was the title) about a job this cabinet shop did of mahogany in a bank. When installed the shop foreman or manager notice that the finish was way too light. An apprentice (George Frank) said no problem. They put pots of ammonia over some sterno burners and went across the street to a bar and drank all night (they were French). In the morning the wood had darkened to the right shade and they opened the windows to air out the fumes. No mention of it in the story but I'm sure they checked in on it throughout the night so they wouldn't burn the place down. I have been tempted to try it some time since I really do not like stains or artificially coloring wood.

[Prashun Patel]

I just completed a cherry countertop

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...ong-countertop

The fresh pieces were as pink as your new piece. I dyed the piece with Honey Amber dye (sprayed) and then used garnet shellac and waterlox. The pix don't do it justice, but the three made it look considerably more aged than new.

You really need to test it before doing it.

Also, note that cherry can blotch when coloring - even with a dye. I found it beneficial to spray it in thin coats with DNA. Boy, talk about control...

[Ken Masco]

I've had great results using Potassium dichromate. Google it. you won't be sorry